


In Your Eyes

by lil_1337



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-10
Updated: 2007-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-06 22:43:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/424076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/pseuds/lil_1337
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the Room that Echoes Challenge #5, Cry – Mandy Moore</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Your Eyes

In hindsight Mickey really wasn't surprised when he found Jake in the alley where Ricky had died. He hadn't known then that it was Ricky's birthday, but had assumed that his counterpart in this time line shared his. Jake, as always, wore his emotions on his face though this time he refused to talk about what was bothering him, choosing instead to withdraw into himself and disappear for long periods of time. The second night he didn't come home to the flat they shared, Mickey went looking for him.

Dawn had broken, but the light was heavily muted. The clouds that obscured the sun were a steely gray that threatened impending rain. They blended with the tarnished silver of the fence that Ricky had been attempting to climb when he was killed. Murdered by a machine with hive mentality. Mickey fought the guilt that always rose up to close his throat and churn in his stomach whenever he thought of that night. Ricky had had his Gran, Jake and a purpose. He'd deserved to live much more than Mickey the idiot, the Doctor's tin dog.

But he hadn't and Mickey had meant what he'd told Jake that night they left London in his van. He couldn't replace Ricky, but together they could fight in his name and honor his memory. They had too; fought hard and won the day, right up until the time the cybermen disappeared. Looking at the pain on the face of the man he'd come to know not only as a comrade in arms but a friend, Mickey realized that he had failed Ricky in one big way. He'd allowed the man's boyfriend to suffer through the grief of loss on his own.

Without thinking about it or considering the consequences, Mickey walked down the alley, his eyes seeing only Jake. Memorizing the way Jake's fingers were threaded through the chain link, his forehead resting against the metal that Mickey knew must be chilled from lower temperatures of the night. It was the tears though that held him. The way they worked their way out from between lids tightly squeezed together to roll one after another down Jake's pale cheeks. Everything about him was a silent scream of agony.

From behind, Mickey wrapped his arms around Jake's chest, pulling the man back against him. "I know I'm not Ricky, but I'm here." Jake's body jerked then melted back against him. White knuckled fingers slid, nerveless, from the fence before Jake turned, burying his face in Mickey's shoulder, arms coming up to encircle his neck. It felt strange and yet comfortable, something remembered from a life that was not his.

Mickey was never sure how long they stood there, Jake crying out his hurt and anger while Mickey held him and offered what support he could. What he did know without a doubt was that when Jake's sobs finally eased and he opened his eyes. For the first time acknowledging Mickey's presence with a watery, fleeting smile, his life was never the same.


End file.
